Chapter 1927 - 1927: 1927

The night gradually deepened, and the people by the river became fewer and fewer.

Both adults and children have gone home to rest.

In the distance by the small river, the Fishing Men's night-float bobbed up and down in the water, making it seem like there were still quite a few people around.

The Fishing Men would never fish near the town. There are too many people, too noisy, and the fish get scared, so they stay far away.

Of course, to say, the water near the town still has a lot of fish because there's a lot to eat. But the quality of the fish isn't good because the water around the town is always polluted.

The bright solar lights of the town government by the riverbank were no longer as bright.

Under the dim light, that old Mrs. Wen patted her tired old waist and was also getting ready to wrap up her stall.

Standing while making pancakes and sitting to cool off, it's indeed exhausting by the end of the day.

By her habit, this stall is set up from morning till night. After all, in this town, by this small river, it's a place where people come often during summer, day and night.

On market days, this place is also a large farmer's market.

She packed up her stall, locking the pancake stove and pots in an iron box, along with stools and sunshades, placing them under a tree where they wouldn't get wet much.

The things she took were a dough board, dough basin, filling basin, water bucket, and some vegetables, putting them into a small pushcart, and pushed it alone towards home.

Home, of course, wasn't in the village; it was definitely in the town.

At this time, she didn't notice that the young man who had bought pancakes earlier and her son, whom she had been yearning for day and night, were quietly watching her from another direction, accompanying her, one step at a time, on her way home.

Before long, the two followed Mrs. Wen to the other side of the town, which was in the direction of the town government.

After a while, they passed the town government and headed towards the outskirts of the town.

This direction was opposite to where the landslide occurred.

Under the moonlit night, Mrs. Wen walked another seven to eight hundred meters and finally arrived home.

Oh, her home was a one-story cement house with just two rooms and a kitchen.

She pushed the small cart into the kitchen and turned on the light.

She didn't bother to close the kitchen door.

Under the light, this simple kitchen, thanks to a hardworking mother, still looked very tidy.

Mrs. Wen was completely unaware that someone was following behind her.

She, with her back to the kitchen door, took out items one by one from the cart, washing whatever needed to be washed. She really insisted on cleanliness in her business dealings.

It was at this moment that Wen Bao removed the makeup from his face, knelt with a plop behind his mother, tears in his eyes, and cried, "Oh, my mother, Leopard comes back to see you, kneels and bows to you!"

Mrs. Wen looked as if struck by lightning, her whole body trembling as she slowly turned around.

She stared blankly at the young man kneeling on the ground in front of her, who was vigorously bowing to her head to the ground, each bow accompanied by a call of "Mother."

Not far behind the young man, the young man who had bought five pancakes earlier stood there, eyes full of tears, yet smiling at her.

After Wen Bao finished bowing, he held his mother's hands, still kneeling, looking up with tears, and said, "My mother, don't you recognize Leopard? Don't you recognize me? Mother... Oh, mother..."

Mrs. Wen's white hair was blown wildly by the night wind, and her face was full of tears.

She trembled, lowered her head closely examining Wen Bao, and murmured, "Leopard... Leopard... It is Leopard, my son..."

Without a strong sound wave, yet it struck the heart so deeply.

Mother held Wen Bao tightly as he stood up and they embraced, crying bitterly together once more...

At such a scene, Liu Zhizhong could no longer bear to watch and turned around, wiping tears continuously.

Behind, the mother and son held each other weeping, occasionally exchanging words.

"Leopard, how have you been over these years? Let mother have a look, you've grown taller... stronger..."

"Mother, I've been fine. I really didn't have a chance to come back, I truly didn't have the opportunity. I think of you every day... There were chances before, but there were no good opportunities..."

"As long as you are well, it's good. Mother truly worried about you outside, getting into fights with people again..."

"..."

The mother and son, reunited, had their own conversations, almost completely forgetting that Liu Zhizhong was still there.

However, Mrs. Wen did mention that when the landslide occurred, there weren't many villagers in the mountain.

There was a cowherd who saw a long crack at the top of the mountain the previous day, drove the cattle down and reported it to 110, yes, indeed he reported to 110!

When this news spread, the town panicked, immediately sent people to take a look, and indeed it was very dangerous.

So, the town mobilized resources to quickly help the villagers move their things and forcibly transferred them to the town.

The main reason was that the town leaders didn't want any casualties from the landslide which would affect their careers.

Therefore, some villagers who didn't want to leave their ancestral homes were still forced to leave by the police station.

That day, in the late afternoon after everyone had moved, it rained heavily, causing a massive landslide with no casualties. Those villagers who didn't want to move were really scared afterward, continuously praising the government!

As a result, the town government received a commendation from the county.

The town government now provided villagers with resettlement houses near the town.

Mrs. Wen's house was rented by the town government from someone else, and she didn't have to pay rent. They even arranged pension insurance for her, about 800 yuan a month.

Moreover, someone even said particularly that because of Wen Bao's case at that time, the statute of limitations had expired, and the circumstances were understandable, he was free, not guilty, and not wanted anymore.

The main reason wasn't it because the thug's father, who was injured, was in jail, and the thug also died of drug use? The local authorities were acting flexibly, which was quite decent.

"Son, you are free now, no longer a criminal. Move back and live with mother. Over the years, I managed to save quite some money, over a couple of hundred thousand. I'll help you with a down payment in the county town to buy a house; you are old enough, time to find a wife..."

Listening to this, Wen Bao felt a bitter sting inside, and his tears were unstoppable. Just as he called out "Mother," Liu Zhizhong turned around and said, "Auntie, my brother doesn't need you to spend money to buy a house. He's married, and last year they had a big healthy baby boy. He now, well, has money!"

Upon hearing this, the mother and son finally focused on Liu Zhizhong, remembering there was someone else in the kitchen!

Mrs. Wen looked at Liu Zhizhong and recognized him, "My goodness, young man, you bought five pancakes; are you Leopard's friend?"

"Friend, more like a brother. Those five pancakes, he ate three of them himself and said it wasn't enough, sent me to buy them haha..."

"Leopard, how could you let your friend spend money to buy pancakes when you come back? If you want to eat, tell mother, she'll make them for you right away! You kids, really..."

Wen Bao was somewhat embarrassed, "Mother, it was because I was hungry! I didn't know I wasn't guilty and didn't want to cause any trouble for you!"